MAP
HM King Mohammed VI launched, here Friday, large-scale port projects within the framework of the “Wessal Casablanca-Port”, which consolidates the economic and tourism influence of the economic capital.
The 4-billion-dirham projects, which provide for the construction of a new shipyard, the development of a fishing port and the construction of a cruise terminal, will restructure and rehabilitate the port area of Casablanca.
This shipyard project, which will be carried out in two stages, provides for building a dry dock with a capacity of 22 units/year, developing repair docks, building a dry dock (boat lift) of at least 5,000 T that can simultaneously handle six vessels and establish an overhead gantry crane of 450 t.
The fishing port integrated project will improve safety and living and working conditions of the city’s fishermen, create a better environment for marketing sea products, organize artisanal fisheries and develop related activities.
The project, set to receive 160 artisanal fishing boats, 120 deep-sea trawlers and 70 sardine fishing boats, features the building of a 665 ml-long main breakwater, a 500 ml-long secondary breakwater, a 7.6-ha platform and an 11.6 ha wet dock.
The project, which is part of the implementation of the Halieutis Plan, will be equipped with an integrated infrastructure for fishery products promotion and marketing, including a fish market (3,600 square meters) near unloading sites, rooms for ship-owners, wholesalers and boaters, a center of standardized containers, ice-making units, fuel stations and shops.
The cruise ships terminal will support the tourism projects featured in the Wessal Casablanca-Port, reinforce the metropolis’ attractiveness in accordance with the tourism vision 2020, and meet increasing demands by travel agencies for cruise ships tourism.
It will be contiguous with the Moulay Youssef port and will receive ships with sizes reaching 350m in length and 45 in width and 9 meters deep. Two unloading docks are also featured for this facility slated to have a capacity of 450,000 cruise ship passengers.
The Wessal Casablanca-Port, already presented to HM the King in April 2014, consists of projects set to consolidate this Moroccan metropolis’ assets as a tourism, cruising and resort destination and support the region’s economic, urban and demographic development.
